We considered 10 toys with steering wheels for toddlers and came up with this list of the best 9 (this one didn’t make the cut). If you’re looking for a steering wheel toy for toddler or baby, keep reading!
Best Choice | Best overall | The Best on a Budget |
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Best Learning My Spin and Learn Steering Wheel | VTech Turn and Learn Driver | Vtech 3-in-1 Race and Learn |
We thought Vtech makes some of the best toddler steering wheels – the Vtech 3-in-1 Race and Learn is a good choice for older toddlers, and the VTech Turn & Learn Driver is a good choice for younger toddlers and babies. For the youngest kids, Best Learning My Spin and Learn Steering Wheel is a great at-home choice, and the Kiddolab My Little Driver Steering Wheel Toy is a good “in the car” option for families who want a toy steering wheel that attaches to car seat.
The 9 Best Steering Wheel Toys For Toddlers
- Best Overall – Baby (at Home) – Best Learning My Spin and Learn Steering Wheel (Ages 6 months to 3 years)
- Best Overall – Young Toddler – VTech Turn & Learn Driver (Ages 6 months to 3 years)
- Best Overall – Older Toddler – Vtech 3-in-1 Race and Learn (Ages 3 to 6 years)
- Best Toy Steering Wheel for Car Seats – Baby – Kiddolab My Little Driver Steering Wheel Toy (Ages 3 months+)
- Runner Up Toy Steering Wheel for Car Seat – Baby – Taf Toys Steering Wheel for Car (12 months to 3 years)
- Best Car Seat Steering Wheel for Toddlers Battat Geared to Steer (Ages 2 to 8 years)
- Best for Tractor Lovers – TOMY John Deere Busy Driver (Ages 18 months to 5 years)
- Best for an Older Child – Casdon Sat Nav Steering Wheel (Ages 3 to 9 years)
- Most Comprehensive – Amosting Pretend & Play Ride On (Ages 18 months+)
Best Learning My Spin and Learn Steering Wheel (Ages 6 months to 3 years)
Best Overall For Babies at Home
Winner of Creative Child Toy of the Year and multiple other awards, the Best Learning My Spin and Learn Steering Wheel has three play modes: colors, shapes, and feelings. Your baby can listen to playful songs, play with the colorful balls, rings, and buttons, and spin the steering wheel.
Parents will love the interactivity for their baby, spinning function, and two volume levels, and the fact that it will help develop gross and fine motor skills during play.
Dimensions are 10.6” x 2.3” x 10.6” and it requires 3 AAA batteries (included).
VTech Turn and Learn Driver (Ages 6 months to 3 years)
Best for Young Toddlers
The VTech Turn and Learn Driver has 3 modes: animal, driving, and music. Your baby or toddler can honk the horn, use the signal lever, and push/pull the gear shift. Watching the red, yellow and green traffic lights flash is a sure hit, as are the different sounds and songs.
It can be used in animal, driving, and music mode, with different interactive songs and sounds in each mode. Dimensions are 10.8” x 8.9” x 4.4”, a good size when sitting on the floor or at a low table.
Requires 2 AA batteries, which are included to get you started.
Vtech 3-in-1 Race and Learn (Ages 3 to 6)
The Best for older toddlers
The Vtech 3-in-1 Race and Learn has lots of features to keep your older toddler engaged. From the vibrating controller, horn to honk, to real racing sounds coming from the gear shifter, this toy simulates a driving experience.
In addition to three play modes (car, jet, motorcycle), there are 9 nail-biting race courses that older children will love to discover, although they may be too advanced with a younger toddler. Along the way, your kiddo will learn hand-eye coordination, phonics, spelling, numbers, and shapes.
Parents will appreciate the durability, off-button, and volume control.
Product dimensions are 4.4” x 12.1” x 8.9” and it requires 3 AA batteries, which are included.
Kiddolab My Little Driver Steering Wheel Toy (Ages 3 months & up)
Best Toy Steering Wheel for Car Seats – Baby 3 months+
This soft fabric steering wheel comes with a velcro strap, allowing you to attach it to a headrest so your baby or toddler can pretend to drive while in the car. Because of the flexible attachment system, you can also use it in a stroller or crib.
This steering wheel is smaller than some, making it easier when little toddler hands need to hold it, to stick under the buggy, or to pop in a diaper bag while out and about.
This product is geared towards babies aged 3 months and up. There’s a flip-up mirror, two buttons that light up and play soothing music, and fun patterns. The gearshift, honking horn, and ignition key provide babies with stimulation and entertainment on the go. It’s also BPA-free, easy to clean, and strong enough to withstand a baby or toddler.Dimensions are 7” x 7” x 2.4” and it requires 2 AA batteries (not included).
Taf Toys Steering Wheel for Car (Ages 12 months to 3)
Runner Up Toy Steering Wheel for Car Seat – Baby (1-3 years)
This toy steering wheel is great for an older baby or toddler who loves driving, or needs some distraction while they’re in their car seat. While it’s intended to use with front-facing toddlers (i.e. 2 and up), some customers have had success using it with little ones in a rear-facing car seat as well.
When used as directed, the steering wheel attaches to the headrest of the front seat with two large plastic clips. It has three adjustable height options.
Toddlers can use the steering wheel to imitate driving a car.
There is a mirror, gear level, and a steering wheel with a fabric backdrop, complete with plenty of sounds, lights, and buttons to keep your toddler entertained in the car. There’s also a baby-safe mirror your child can look in! This product could help children who dislike the car, and they can watch themselves drive in the mirror. For ages 12 months and older.
The manufacturer recommends it for children aged 12 months and up. We can see it working for littles aged 12 months to 3 or so.Dimensions are 17.3” x 4.3” x 9.4”. 2 AA batteries required, and not included.
Battat Geared to Steer Cars Steering Wheel Toy (Ages 2 to 8)
Best Car Seat Steering Wheel for Toddlers 2-8
Songs, driving sounds, signal lights, a moving odometer, and a gear shift will make your child feel just like mom and dad.
This affordable red and grey steering wheel includes a traffic lights driving game. When the light turns red, they must press the red button and hit the brakes, pressing the green button to speed up.
There are two volume options, easy to hold handles, and the number of buttons is not overwhelming. While the manufacturer recommends this for ages 2 and up, past customers have mentioned younger toddlers enjoy it as well.
Dimensions are 11.2” x 4.2” x 10.2” and 3 AAA batteries are required and included.
TOMY John Deere Busy Driver (Ages 18 months to 5)
Best for Tractor Lovers
The John Deere Busy Driver will be a sure hit with the tiny tractor-lover in your life. They can use the gear shift, start the engine with a lock and key ignition, flash the turn signals, press the hazard button, and spin steering wheel, promoting gross motor skills and imaginative, independent play along the way. The sounds add to a fun tractor driving experience, and the odometer is ready to click, click, click when spinned.
The toy also plays Jimmy Crack Corn.
Dimensions are 12.1” x 8.3” x 8”, and it requires 3 AA batteries (included).
Casdon Sat Nav Steering Wheel (Ages 3 to 9)
Best for an Older Child
The Casdon Sat Nav toy is quite special, equipped with a voice activated steering wheel, offering commands your child can respond to, and offering feedback as your child takes action.
In addition, it has indicator lights, realistic horn, engine, gear change, and braking sounds, and flashing lights.
The Sat Nav Wheel is ideal for imaginative play while developing motor skills, problem-solving abilities, and understanding cause and effect. It’s also uniquely designed to encourage left-right recognition.
This toy has unique stand for the steering wheel, so it sits between your child’s legs to create a functional driving experience. Past customers have used it at home, as well as taking it in the car, setting it on the seat between their child’s legs so they can drive along with you.Dimensions are 4.5” x 8.5” x 17” and this toy requires 3 AA batteries. Note, the voice is a British accent, not American.
Amosting Pretend & Play Ride on Toy (Ages 18 months+)
The Most Comprehensive
A full-on driving station, this sit-on toy is one of the most comprehensive steering wheel toys you can get.
The driving pedals, rearview mirror, and screen with driving scenes are some of the features you just won’t find on other steering wheel toys. The screen in particular is likely to delight your toddler, as the speed changes when your child shifts gears, and they can change it to feature a firetruck, ambulance, or police car. When your child turns left or right, so does the car on the screen – a great accompaniment to their imagination!Dimensions are 18” x 18” x 9″. This toy requires 6 AA batteries (not included).
How to Choose the Best Wheel for Your Toddler
What are Steering Wheel Toys?
Steering wheel toys are a hit with most babies and toddlers – taking them to go lets kids “drive along” with mom and dad from the safety of their car seat, and using them at home encourage imaginative play and independent play.
Many of the features of these toys are also examples of cause and effect toys – buttons that cause lights to flash or music to play, for example, will help babies and toddlers grasp this critical concept.
Steering wheel toys also encourage hand-eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills development, and more advanced concepts like push-pull (with a gear shift) and left-right (with a turning wheel).
Many of the toys on this list also have changeable themes, with songs or topics such as colors and shapes for younger kids, and themes such as fire truck or ambulance for older kids.
Choosing the Best Toys with Steering Wheels for Toddlers
Safety
Safety is always a number one concern when it comes to kids toys, including when choosing from different toys with steering wheels for toddlers. Here are a few things to consider:
- On battery-operated toys, ensure the battery compartment screws shut to prevent kids from accessing (and eating) batteries. Batteries are important to child proof, as they can be incredibly dangerous.
- Don’t bring heavy toys or those that don’t attach, or aren’t intended for use in vehicles, in the car. If you make a quick stop, a heavy toy could hit your child in the head, creating a safety hazard.
- Look for safe plastics and materials, and ensure all materials meet government safety standards for chemicals such as phthalates. This is especially important for younger kids who are likely to put pieces in their mouths.
- With all toys, we recommend you inspect them regularly – ideally each time before your kids use them. Ensure the batter compartment is securely closed and there aren’t any cracked or broken pieces that could cut your child or pose a choking hazard.
Age Range
- We’ve included the manufacturer recommend age range in this guide, but in some cases they feel a bit unrealistic.
- For many of the toys, past customers have reported younger children using – and loving – the toys. With many of the toys, the upper age range listed also seems a bit ambitious. Generally, these toys with steering wheels for toddlers are geared more towards younger kids.
Usage
- For the most part, these toys are intended to use at home OR use in the car, but not both. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, the toys don’t do double duty, so you need to decide where your child will use it before deciding on the best one for your family!
- If you’re looking for a steering wheel for car seats, we recommend you get one that’s specifically designed for this purpose. While we don’t have a choice that attaches to car seat in this list, we do have options that attach to the headrest and can be used in the car seat (we think Kiddolab My Little Driver is the best for this purpose).
A Summary of the Best Choices
When it comes to shopping for a baby, it’s hard to go wrong with the Best Learning My Spin and Learn to use at home, or the Kiddolab My Little Driver to use in a car seat. Toddlers who need something to use in the car seat might like the Battat Geared to Steer, although you should consider safety implications of taking it in the car.
If you’re shopping for a young toddler, we think the VTech Turn & Learn Driver will be the best choice for most kids. Older toddlers will also like VTech, although this time we suggest you look at the Vtech 3-in-1 Race and Learn.If you want something your child can actually sit on, the Amosting Pretend & Play Ride On is worth taking a look at. And if you need something that will do double duty with a younger and older child, the Casdon Sat Nav Steering Wheel is quite versatile.
Final thoughts
We hope our research helps you choose the best option for your toddler or baby. If you know someone with a toddler, we hope you’ll share this list!
